[ad_1]
KIEV, Ukraine: Russia has launched an intense series of nighttime air strikes using drones and missiles against targets across Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday, targeting the southern port city of Odessa for the second day in a row.
Meanwhile, a fire at a military facility in Russian-annexed Crimea shut down an important highway and forced the evacuation of civilians from four settlements, according to Sergei Aksenov, the Russian-appointed head of the region, which was annexed in 2014.
He did not specify the cause of the fire at the facility in the Kirovsky district, which came two days after an attack on a bridge linking Russia to the peninsula that the Kremlin blamed on Ukraine.
“It was a difficult night of air strikes over the whole of Ukraine,” Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kiev city military department, said in a statement on Telegram.
Popko said that the attacks were particularly fierce in Odessa for the second day in a row.
Odessa region governor Oleh Kepper said details of potential damage and losses following Russia’s “strong” offensive in the region would be provided later.
Popko said that Russia also attacked Kiev with Iranian-made Shahed planes, but “without result.” Ukrainian air defense intercepted all the drones that were targeting the capital, and a preliminary investigation showed that there were no casualties.
In Ukraine’s Zhytomyr region, Russian drone attacks destroyed some infrastructure and private homes, according to the region’s governor, Vitaliy Ponchko. There were no reports of injuries.
Officials in Ukraine’s Poltava and Kirovohradsky regions also reported attacks.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that the military intercepted 13 out of 16 Kalibr cruise missiles, fired 23 out of 32 Shahed drones, and one Kh-59 missile.
According to the report, Russia also fired 8 Kh-22 cruise missiles and 6 high-precision Oniks missiles, with the Oniks missiles directed at infrastructure in the Odessa region.
The latest barrage of attacks came a day after Russia carried out what the Russian Defense Ministry described as a “retaliatory strike” on Ukrainian military facilities near Odessa and the port city of Mykolaiv, using precision weapons launched from the sea.
Russia blames Ukraine for the July 17 attack on the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia to Crimea and is a major military and civilian supply artery.
Ukraine’s top security agency appears to have tacitly acknowledged its role in the July 17 attack, but has refrained from directly claiming responsibility, echoing its responses after previous similar attacks on the Kerch Bridge.
Meanwhile, a fire at a military facility in Russian-annexed Crimea shut down an important highway and forced the evacuation of civilians from four settlements, according to Sergei Aksenov, the Russian-appointed head of the region, which was annexed in 2014.
He did not specify the cause of the fire at the facility in the Kirovsky district, which came two days after an attack on a bridge linking Russia to the peninsula that the Kremlin blamed on Ukraine.
“It was a difficult night of air strikes over the whole of Ukraine,” Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kiev city military department, said in a statement on Telegram.
Popko said that the attacks were particularly fierce in Odessa for the second day in a row.
Odessa region governor Oleh Kepper said details of potential damage and losses following Russia’s “strong” offensive in the region would be provided later.
Popko said that Russia also attacked Kiev with Iranian-made Shahed planes, but “without result.” Ukrainian air defense intercepted all the drones that were targeting the capital, and a preliminary investigation showed that there were no casualties.
In Ukraine’s Zhytomyr region, Russian drone attacks destroyed some infrastructure and private homes, according to the region’s governor, Vitaliy Ponchko. There were no reports of injuries.
Officials in Ukraine’s Poltava and Kirovohradsky regions also reported attacks.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that the military intercepted 13 out of 16 Kalibr cruise missiles, fired 23 out of 32 Shahed drones, and one Kh-59 missile.
According to the report, Russia also fired 8 Kh-22 cruise missiles and 6 high-precision Oniks missiles, with the Oniks missiles directed at infrastructure in the Odessa region.
The latest barrage of attacks came a day after Russia carried out what the Russian Defense Ministry described as a “retaliatory strike” on Ukrainian military facilities near Odessa and the port city of Mykolaiv, using precision weapons launched from the sea.
Russia blames Ukraine for the July 17 attack on the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia to Crimea and is a major military and civilian supply artery.
Ukraine’s top security agency appears to have tacitly acknowledged its role in the July 17 attack, but has refrained from directly claiming responsibility, echoing its responses after previous similar attacks on the Kerch Bridge.
[ad_2]
